PARRIS ISLAND - Although Muslim recruits could not fast due to the rigors of recruit training, an Islamic faith group aboard Marine Recruit Depot Parris Island was granted an extra hour to worship at the Religious Ministries Center on Sundays to observe their holy month of Ramadan.

Ramadan ends at sundown today, which is typically observed by Muslims worldwide by fasting and prayer.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Abuhena Saifulislam was the first Muslim chaplain assigned to serve the Marine Corps. He said those who may be sent to serve in the Middle East have an obvious interest in learning about the Islamic faith. "From an operational perspective, it will always give them a better edge when they deal with the locals," Saifulislam said.

Because earning the trust of Middle East populations is essential in current operations, understanding Islam has become important to Marines, Saifulislam said. He learned this in conversations with troops during his deployment to Afghanistan with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

"I've found Marines want to know about how they can function better tactically," he explained. "They want to know what information would help them when they are in a country with a Muslim majority."

For this reason, Saifulislam said Muslim Marines have a knowledge that may be of special value to the Corps. While there is no imam at Parris Island to steer the Islamic prayer group at the Depot's Religious Ministries Center, Muslim recruits have a place to pray and find strength through the challenges of training.

The prayer group is informally led by recruit Mohamed Maghraoui, who is the guide for Platoon 1086, Charlie Co., 1st Recruit Training Battalion. Maghraoui teaches his fellow recruits the lessons he has learned from a childhood spent in a cradle of Islamic faith. He is the son of Mokhtar Maghraoui, a widely recognized Muslim scholar who has worked to bridge gaps between different faiths. He shares some of his father's lessons with the group.

"The goal of fasting at Ramadan is to give you the same type of physical, mental and spiritual discipline we are learning here," the younger Maghraoui said. The Algerian-born Muslim American relates most of what he has read in the Quran to life as a Marine recruit, because he says the ideals of the Corps share a vast commonality with his religious ideals.

The discourse in the RMC among Muslims resembles a conversation one might hear during a mentor session in a squad bay, except that they refer to each other as "brother" instead of "recruit." Ultimately, the recruits all agree the goal of a good Muslim is to set a respectable example in the way he or she lives. Setting the example, of course, is a Marine Corps leadership principle, but it is in line with doctrines of the Islamic faith.

"For every good action you do, you influence others to do good," Maghraoui tells the group. "In the Muslim faith, when you inspire others to do the right thing, you are rewarded by Allah for every good thing they do as a result of your influence." Inversely, Muslims believe they are held accountable for all their wrong actions, as well as those wrong actions they inspire.

According to Chaplain Saifulislam, it should come as no surprise that Muslims are willing to serve, because their faith inclines them toward good citizenship, and they therefore tend to exhibit sincere patriotism.

"From the Islamic perspective, Muslims should love their country," he said. "The Quran says to obey God's messengers and those who have authority over you. In the military we respect that," he explained.

The recruits in the Islamic prayer group say they have answered their call to duty. They are committed to their faith, and they are enthusiastic about serving as Marines. Of the 10 recruits who attended Sunday's worship session, about half were devoted Muslims, and the rest were recruits of assorted faiths who were curious about Islam.

Maghraoui structured Sunday prayer meetings to include separate times for worship, a guided discussion and a question and answer session for newcomers. One of the recruits asked about the concept of jihad, explaining he held a fear of this word and associated it with terrorism.

Maghraoui, who can speak and write fluently in Arabic, welcomed the opportunity to define the term. "It is a self struggle to do good and to remain spiritually disciplined," he said. He believes terrorists hold a perverse misinterpretation of jihad, and he is eager to correct the confusion. He said there is no such thing as a holy war in the Quran. "There is a jihad for self defense, but there is not a jihad that calls for Muslims to initiate violence." In fact, the word "Islam" itself means peace. He said a good Muslim could never be a terrorist and could never attack non-combatants.

The group also discussed the relationships between men and women in Islamic cultures. If there is any social inequality, Maghraoui said it is in women's favor.

"You cannot be a man of any honor if you do not respect women," he told the group. "Your mother bore you, and came before you, and the Prophet Muhammed, 'sall Allahu alayhi wa sallam,' told us she is the most deserving of your honor."

He said the profound respect for mothers illustrated in the Quran communicates a larger respect for women in general.

"In Islam, the woman is everything," he explained.

His mother, Fatima El-Hindi, agrees with the interpretation.

"Many people in the non-Muslim world think women are slaves (in Islamic cultures), but we have a saying in the Quran that says the men should serve the women," she said. "That is why we are not obligated to work, but the man is obligated to work for us."

El-Hindi said women are not prohibited by the Islamic faith from working or becoming educated. She has several master's degrees of her own and a job as a teacher of Middle Eastern studies in Syracuse, N.Y.

Lance Cpl. Jamilah Falero, a Muslim woman and a clerk at the Douglas Visitor's Center, believes too much is made of the difference between Islam and other religions. Falero, of Savannah, Ga., attended a Catholic high school, and learned there is wisdom in focusing on the many similarities across world religions.

Some individuals prefer to dwell on the disparities between religions to help them recruit impressionable people to their causes. In sermons released through Internet videos, al-Qaida regional commander Anwar al-Awlaki said Muslims should be afraid that Americans will one day turn on the country's Muslim population.

However, Chaplain Saifulislam dismissed that notion, saying that Americans are very inclusive people. He believes the majority of non-Muslim Americans are accepting of Muslims, just as the majority of Muslims are accepting toward people of other faiths.

Regardless of the conflicts that may exist between religions, there is much to be shared between the Marine Corps and Islamic people.

A recent graduate of Parris Island, Pfc. Idrees Dukes of Platoon 3069, Mike Co., 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, said he believes his Muslim faith will continue to inspire him in his Marine Corps journey as it has through recruit training.

Dukes said his life's ambitions were always driven by the Islamic ideologies of "spirit" and "discipline." He said these particular character traits are of the greatest importance in a Muslim's pursuit of righteousness. That is why his most moving moment in boot camp came when he discovered both words emblazoned on his own battalion's coat of arms, set on either side of an emblematic campaign cover.

Dukes, Maghraoui and Falero all agree they draw pride and strength from their faith and patriotism. They see themselves both as Americans and as Muslims, and they are honored by their sworn duty to defend the religious freedom granted by the American Constitution.

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Only as much as giving a radical Christian the right to bear arms. Or a radical militia man the right to vote.

The ignorance shown by some is just downright...well, I would say surprising, but nothing people do or say anymore surprises me. SHOCKING is more appropriate term. I really can't believe that some people are simply as stupid as they are and are still breathing.

Far too many people are mistaking, again, radicals for the majority. This goes for ALL groups and ALL beliefs. Is it safe to say that since some Catholic priests are homosexual pedophiles that ALL are? Should we just scrap the whole priesthood and blame all in the group?

Because a few religious zealots have gathered followers under the name of Jesus, started a cult, gathered weapons and created a compound, should we then blame ALL followers of Jesus?

Just because some nut-cases take it upon themselves to interpret God's intent and decide to go out and shoot abortion doctors should we blame ALL of those people from the group they were part of?

The answer is, of course...no.

And we should also not blame ALL Muslims for the acts of those radicals that attacked innocents.

Of course, this will be met with the usual and honestly, I don't care what those people have to say. To state that all of any one group are the same shows nothing more than the blatant stupidity that far too many men and women are guilty of.

In WWII, it took awhile, but people of Japanese, German and Italian descent were finally accepted into the military for service. They were not readily accepted in some cases, because of the bias.

I see no problem with accepting Muslims into the military. They have to take an oath and if they commit any crimes, they will be prosecuted as any other soldier. There are many peaceful Muslims that do not follow the radical interpretation of the Qu'ran. All people that want peace have to support each other against violence.

Uh, hello, we have Muslims already in the US Military and have for awhile. Not only that, we use natives to translate, and they also happen to be, you geussed it, Muslim. They risk their lives to do this. Those I have spoken to who do it or have done it, say if they are caught, they will be killed by Al Quaida. You know though, don't you, that there are no non-US citizens in the US military?

Any other groups you are unsettled about in the military? Gays, maybe? Again, US citizens...

How about you? Are YOU in the military? Is it going to affect you personally?

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